In recent years, many people have begun exercising more to improve their health. One popular type of exercise is walking. To make walking more enjoyable, many people walk with a partner. For example, a husband and wife may take a walk together. As another example, a person may take a walk with a dog.
However, people who enjoy walking with a partner have problems when they wish to walk at night or when the weather is poor, such as when it is raining or snowing or just simply cold. In such situations, these people face danger or discomfort or both when they walk outdoors.
To avoid these problems, people can choose to walk indoors on a treadmill. However, current treadmills in the art do not provide a satisfactory solution for people who wish to walk with a partner.
In particular, a typical treadmill can only accommodate a single treadmill user. Thus, if a person wishes to walk with a partner, two separate treadmills typically would be needed. However, such a solution is expensive. Further, even if cost were not an issue, such a solution might still be unsatisfactory, because separate treadmills can present other problems, such as making it difficult for the two treadmill users to hold hands while walking.
To solve the problem with the cost of having two of the same machines, U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,416 describes dual facing aerobic exercise machines which include diametrically opposed exercise stations provided on a common base so that diametrically opposed users can have an unobstructed view of each other and so that common components can serve each station. U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,416 discloses that the dual facing machines provide for diametrically opposed users in a close relationship so that both social as well as face-to-face competitive exercise is achievable. U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,416 further discloses that the dual facing machines include dual treadmill devices.
However, the dual facing machines disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,416 still have a number of problems. One problem is that the cost is still high, because the design is complicated and still involves a large number of duplicate parts. In addition, problems arise from the dual facing design itself. For example, it is difficult, if not impossible, for the two treadmill users to hold hands while walking. Also, in the case where a treadmill user wishes to walk a dog, such cannot be done in the usual manner.
Thus, there is still a need in the art to provide a treadmill which can simultaneously accommodate two treadmill users side-by-side in a satisfactory manner.